Travel Guides

The Colosseum

Known to be one of the most impressive buildings of the Roman
Empire, the Colosseum was the largest structure of its era. Emperor
Vespasian, founder of the Flavian Dynasty, started construction of
the Colosseum in 72 AD and it was completed in 80 AD. This enduring
symbol of ancient Rome, which used to be called the Flavian
Amphitheater, tenaciously clings to its foundations as the site of
former gladiatorial conquests and brutal public entertainment. Its
architecture boasts an impressive array of Doric, Ionic and
Corinthian columns and an underground network of cells, corridors,
ramps and elevators that were used to transport animals from their
cages to the arena. It could once hold a crowd of 55,000 spectators
and had 80 entrances. Emperors staged days of free public
entertainment in this vast building, and not all the games were
brutal and blood-thirsty - they often began with comedic acts and
exotic animal displays, but did invariably include gladiatorial
fights to the death. The magnificence of the original structure has
been eroded through the years by pillaging and earthquakes so that
only a skeletal framework remains; however, the sense of history
the Colosseum is still able to evoke is truly awe-inspiring and it
remains one of Rome's knock-out attractions, featuring on the
bucket lists of many a traveller.